


you belong somewhere you feel free

by cshmr



Series: nyxtober [3]
Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Nyxtober, Post-Canon, i am bad at tagging, i'm (not) sorry, no beta we die like Ethan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26916502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cshmr/pseuds/cshmr
Summary: tom has some bad news for lex~~~prompt: hattitle from wildflower by tom petty
Relationships: Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Series: nyxtober [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955443
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	you belong somewhere you feel free

**Author's Note:**

> dunno how i feel about this one, but here you go  
> also, to the person reading this who talks about this song being a lexthan song all the time? this one's for you honey x

The two girls in the backseat huddle closer together as Mr Houston drives just slightly too fast over a speedbump, the car lurching forward as he does. It’s just them and Becky (who Mr Houston had sheepishly introduced as a “very good friend” of his) in the sedan, with two other adults and Tim in another car. Lex doesn’t remember their names, and she doesn’t particularly care. Instead, she watches the windows as they fog up, absentmindedly doodling a small flower through the condensation, right in the corner.

She can hear the music playing through the tinny radio only faintly, some boring pop song she’s heard a million times while she’s at work. She sighs as Hannah pulls closer, and then she feels something being dropped onto her lap. Hannah squeezes her hand tight, and she squeezes back as she looks down.

Huh. Ethan’s old cap.

“You don’t wanna wear it, Banana?” she asks quietly, not wanting to disturb Mr Houston.

Hannah shakes her head. “Unbonded,” she whispers, staring up at Lex with tears shining in her eyes. “Both black.”

Lex isn’t sure what exactly she means, but then again, she never is. Hannah doesn’t seem to have any more explanation for this than she’s already given, though, so as she clings Lex, the older girl glances at the cap.

It’s battered and beaten, but from time, not a lack of care. Ethan rarely gets anything for himself first-hand, and the hat means a lot to him, she knows that; she never sees him without it. She smiles softly as she looks at the small words written on the tag - “Ethan ~~Greane~~ Green.”

She suddenly notices that the radio has stopped, and so has Becky’s light chattering from the front seat. In fact, the only noise in the now eerily silent car is Hannah sniffling quietly next to her.

“Hey, Mr Houston? Is everything okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, Lex, everything’s fine. Why?”

She’s gripping the cap tight in her free hand, she realises, so tight her knuckles are turning white. She doesn’t release it, though, too worried about the hesitant tone in Mr Houston’s voice. “Ethan’s not here, but he managed to escape, right?” She doesn’t hear Hannah’s whimper at her side, nor notice the tears already brimming up in her eyes.

The adults share a glance, and Tom sighs. “Lex, we-”

“Really? You’re gonna say it now?” Becky hisses to him, and Lex’s stomach drops. That can’t mean anything good. Ethan has to be okay. She doesn't know how she could live without him - or even if she could live without him at all.

“Yeah! She asked now.”

“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes, can’t-”

“Look, I- I’m not an idiot!” she yells, interrupting their bickering. “I know something happened, just please… please just tell me.”

They glance at each other uneasily for a moment, and she can vaguely see Hannah cover her ears out of the corner of her eye. But she doesn’t care about how the rest of them are feeling, doesn't care about them at all, right now. All she cares about now is Ethan, and even though a tear is already rolling down her cheek, she’s trying to convince herself that there's still hope. Everything’s okay, they’re going to be okay. Ethan always says that he’ll never leave her, that even though she’s always worried that people won’t stay, she can always count on him being there. He can’t fail her now, can’t abandon her. Can’t he?

When Mr Houston finally speaks again, his voice sounds so far away. “I’m sorry, Lex. He didn’t make it. We-”

He’s cut off by a sob, and as her world shatters, she can’t bring herself to let go of the scruffy old baseball cap. It’s all that’s left of him, and she’ll never let it go again.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah i don't like this one that much but i said i'd upload all the starkid ones so here we go!


End file.
